My Gosh its sooooooo expensive!!!!!

[MIKETFROMRI]

We first started to come to Disney in 1985. Id say 3 of our first 6-7 annual trips we spent staying at The Polynesian. By far our favorite of all the 16 we have stayed at...BUT its been so long since we have been able to stay there and being that we usually stay 10-12 days , paying bout $400 a night just makes no sense. Cost of Poly has gone through the roof. But no worry there are so many nice ones ,that you cant lose. Still...Polynesian will only be in our plans if we choose to go for like 2-3 days or split but dont see that coming anytime soon.

 

[popcenturylover]

We usually stay at the values. I can't justify spending so much money on a room that I'm in to sleep & shower. We are all about the parks when we are at WDW. Sure we could spend even less off-site for a bigger room but, we like the convenience of the bus service, EMH, & the "MAGIC"!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Prices for everything at WDW keep going up, not just the resorts. Food, park tickets, souvenirs... Man, I wish my salary would increase the way Disney prices do....

The problem I see with everything increasing the way they do is I don't feel like the resort prices warrant what they are charging. But if people keep paying, Disney will keep raising!!!

My feelings exactly. If I felt the product was worth the price I'd still be spending the money to stay in the deluxes, enjoy the parks, and dine in the restaurants. When I started feeling like Mickey was stickin' it to me dry I stopped going. I'll go spend a night or 2 at Pop, maybe venture to a water park, but I have a serious problem with parting with $$ to go into the parks or do another WDW vacation.

Just last night my brother-in-law commented he was taking his family to Orlando for spring break. He said, "...but we aren't going to Disney..." as if preparing for a debate over why he isn't going to WDW. Nope. Nothing from us. "Have fun!" I won't even recommend WDW to friends or family anymore. To me, it's not worth what they ask. If I don't like feeling ripped off I'm not sending anyone I LIKE to go get that treatment.

 

[Hot Lava]

We stay onsite because I drive over 100 miles a day commuting. Getting up, having a variety of good meals available, walking a short distance and being delivered to our destination means a lot to us. Its vacation, not the daily mundane slog.

What? you don't looooooooove you long commute? Gee, I cannot imagine (or sympathize) why!
Part of the reason we haven't been to WDW in so long is b/c our vacations are usually spent going back to where I am from. While I want to do this, it really isn't much of a vacation. It is mostly a lot of running around, trying to see everyone. And anytime we end up in a traffic jam, my husband says, "Ugh! I could have stayed home to be in traffic!" - and I agree. We are ground down from long commutes (although I don't currently do mine anymore; the scars are still there!).

AKL appeals to me b/c I want to stay at least once stay in a Savannah room. And given the nature of this trip possibly being once-in-a-lifetime for some of those going, now might be the time to try to do AKL. But the cost is certainly causing sticker shock.

I have always just stayed in the value resorts. But we used to spend basically no time in the room; this time we will be spending significantly more. And I am older and I think my tolerance for noise is way, way lower than the last time I was at WDW. I like quiet at night!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

My feelings exactly. If I felt the product was worth the price I'd still be spending the money to stay in the deluxes, enjoy the parks, and dine in the restaurants. When I started feeling like Mickey was stickin' it to me dry I stopped going. I'll go spend a night or 2 at Pop, maybe venture to a water park, but I have a serious problem with parting with $$ to go into the parks or do another WDW vacation.

Just last night my brother-in-law commented he was taking his family to Orlando for spring break. He said, "...but we aren't going to Disney..." as if preparing for a debate over why he isn't going to WDW. Nope. Nothing from us. "Have fun!" I won't even recommend WDW to friends or family anymore. To me, it's not worth what they ask. If I don't like feeling ripped off I'm not sending anyone I LIKE to go get that treatment.

Universal, Busch Gardens and Sea World seem to offer more bang for their buck in terms of ticket pricing lately. Heck, BG even has the pay for one day, come back all year for Florida residents!! While WDW Florida resident passes are cheap, they sure aren't as cheap as BG is offering theirs for (of course, that is just one park compared to several...) And Uni is expanding at crazy speeds. First WWoHP and now they're adding onto that and ading Transformers and a new resort... I feel like other than FLE which is MUCH needed, WDW adds a new ride or attraction at the speed of a turtle. Really, what was the last thing we got other than EE back in 2006?!

If we didn't have 3 trips already fully planned this year, I don't think we would be going except for after the cruise. After our November trip though, we're looking elsewhere for our vacations, mostly because I will be living in Florida by then and going 2 hours away for a weeks vacation will hardly seem worth it to me. So we're trying DLP in May 2014 and Disneyland in November 2014. Maybe if others start doing the same it will have an effect on the Big Cheese and they will smarten up! (Hey I can dream right? )

 

[PotteryGal]

For slightly more than the cost of a value resort, we are staying off property, for our first trip to WDW in 4 years. For us the trade off of only being 1 mile away from Disney property, having separate bedroom spaces, plus a full size kitchen, living area, and private patio pool is definitely a better use of our money. Disney resort prices make me wince, and the dining plan is so not worth it for our family, plus we prefer using our car over a crowded Disney bus. It really was a no-brainer. As far as experiencing the 'magic', that is what we bring to the parks in our attitude toward it all, not based on where we stay. Disney will continue to raise their prices, but they have priced this family OUT.

 

[JustJude]

This is exactly why we stay off property. I'm happy to drive and we stay in LBV so not far at all. We have limited financial resources and I would much rather it went to enjoying our day to day activities and eating better than a posh room that I'm hardly in. Don't get me wrong if I could afford both I would but at the moment it's off site for us. Offsite is also more appealing than the value resorts to us. Its all about what works for you and your family.

 

[hiptwinmama]

For slightly more than a value, we rent DVC's. I have one person we rent from every year because her kids are adults and they don't have grand kids yet. But what I don't like is that the rack rate for a deluxe resort is comparable to the Ritz or Waldorf, so why isn't the service comparable.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

We have limited financial resources and I would much rather it went to enjoying our day to day activities and eating better than a posh room that I'm hardly in.

I can say this in all honesty, the rooms at WDW resorts really are not all that posh. And that's the deluxes in concierge. They're nice but I wouldn't describe them as luxurious. That's the problem here. WDW asks prices at rack rate with the intent of discounting so even the discounted rates are inflated far beyond what the product warrants. Same with dining and TiW. You really aren't missing much by staying off-property. Its possible to get rooms at the Waldorf at Bonnet Creek which truly is top quality for as much or less than WDW's discounted deluxes. I've often thought staying in a great big vacation rental home with a private pool would be a fun option!

 

[luv]

For slightly more than a value, we rent DVC's. I have one person we rent from every year because her kids are adults and they don't have grand kids yet. But what I don't like is that the rack rate for a deluxe resort is comparable to the Ritz or Waldorf, so why isn't the service comparable.

ITA. It should be.

And as sweetpee said, the club level rooms are the same rooms. They don't even do a better job with housekeeping. I found half-eaten food in a club level room. For all those people who wonder what those rooms are like, they are exactly the same.

People ask me about Poly or GF. For some, that is fine. But for people who are accustomed to nicer hotels, I say, "You don't want to stay there..." and go on to discuss other options. That just shouldn't be the case.

 

[Skibum1970]

I can say this in all honesty, the rooms at WDW resorts really are not all that posh. And that's the deluxes in concierge. They're nice but I wouldn't describe them as luxurious. That's the problem here. WDW asks prices at rack rate with the intent of discounting so even the discounted rates are inflated far beyond what the product warrants. Same with dining and TiW. You really aren't missing much by staying off-property. Its possible to get rooms at the Waldorf at Bonnet Creek which truly is top quality for as much or less than WDW's discounted deluxes. I've often thought staying in a great big vacation rental home with a private pool would be a fun option!

Completely agree with this. We can rent a beautiful cabin with a view outside of Gatlinburg for the cost of a discounted Moderate. We're going to stay at the Biltmore Inn for about $300/night soon and it is a true luxury hotel. The only difference is that I don't get to board a boat from my dear Wilderness Lodge to go to the Magic Kingdom. Still, we're going to the Biltmore, staying onsite, and doing some other stuff for less than half of the cost to go on WDW vacation (granted, we can drive to the Biltmore and we fly to WDW). I have a pretty hard time signing on for a $2,500 trip (staying at Port Orleans) anymore.

 

[JustJude]

I can say this in all honesty, the rooms at WDW resorts really are not all that posh. And that's the deluxes in concierge. They're nice but I wouldn't describe them as luxurious. That's the problem here. WDW asks prices at rack rate with the intent of discounting so even the discounted rates are inflated far beyond what the product warrants. Same with dining and TiW. You really aren't missing much by staying off-property. Its possible to get rooms at the Waldorf at Bonnet Creek which truly is top quality for as much or less than WDW's discounted deluxes. I've often thought staying in a great big vacation rental home with a private pool would be a fun option!

We always grab condos at Cypress Pointe so we pay less than $1000 for 14 nights there.
The problem with vaccation homes is they are often quite far out. Whilst I like to drive I also like to be able to grab some food and a cocktail on foot